Walnut dehydrater



1,641,716 Sept. 6 1927- J (IJUWELLES WALNUT DBHYDRA'II'ER Filed Dec. 28 1 926 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor JCT/Vales Patented Sept. 6, 1927.

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WALNUT EHY-D TEB' Application findpe n er as, aaafs ria N0; 157;536.

to allow a natural circulation of air tor dry .ing. This method although very slow, 1 sve ry ue es fu frequen ly n y und sQ- weather conditions.

Heavy fogs, rain and other inclement weather render the tray type of dri ers impractical. As a result of this, there are ,on tl ermarket at thepresent time, variouskinds .ofdehydrating apparatus, especially constructed for drying walnuts. In all otthe machines with which 1 am fainiliarmheated' air at a given tempe igatnre, is circulatedthru the nut containers. However, these devices embody ,intricate machines, .heaters costly and motors, thus .rerngleringthe device .substantially prohibitive to a small nut .a grower; v

What l -propos e'to do, s ,to 'prov de a less costly machine such ,as may ,be employed to advantage by small grower, the improved device having Substantially all of the vantages of the more expensive ones, and being. even nore successful in that it does, away with the heated air and employs the sold .anethoclot na ural irculatio o air.

Briefly, the improved apparatus comprises a housing .colnposed o t meta-l an 'WQQ- the same being constructed to provide aplnral ity of individual nut bins, these bins have ving screen bottoms constructed to cause the nuts to be discharged by gravity and to allow a circulation of air, under pressure, through the bin for effectively drying the nuts.

The particular structural features of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description and draw ings.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same Figure 1 is a fragmentary side View showing the complete apparatus.

Fig. 2 is an end view with a portion broken away to disclose the internal structural arrangement.

F 3 is a -relati velysmall perspective-view giving the-generalcontigurationlof the .struc- V ture;

Figure dis a perspectiveview of oneotlthe details, and. I i

Fignrle 51is-a perspective yiewof another pne otth'edetaiisof the invention.

In carryingout the invention, lemploy a housing which is generally-designated ibyithe reference character 1. Inendelevatiomthis housingis substantially hexagonal. However, this particular shape I is not controlling. The end-wall in each instance, designatedat 2, is provided adjacent its' bottom'lwith :an opening, the upper halt' o f which is segmen- ;tal in construction and closed by screen 3. The lower lialtlotthe 'openin embodies the hingedly mounted screened interior ot'thehousing 'is'a centrail longitudina-l partit on *5 trom' which transverse pardhor t.- On 1 the 'titions' extend order to'form a pliiral ity of *bins 6, ofthe configuration shown in Fig. 2. Each bin sopenat its-top, and a -liinged ly mounted cover or door 7 1s provi'ded'ior 1 closing the bin. -'The' door is Idownwardly inclined to act "as a good watershed.

At the apex of the top of thehousingis a weather] shield 8. This shield is so construct ed asyto overlie the hinged endsof tlieldoors and to prevent entrance of Water. wlhe bo-ttom. ofthe bin is constructed of screen mesh 9 supported from strips of materialand it will be noticed -from :Fig. 1, t11bt there are shaped to form receivers. Thesideivallsiare inclined t.o;wafrd each other, r and this central bottom :Vv'tlgl is inclined.downwardly and .outwardly and toxins d schargecommunic ing with the side Wall of the housing. This opening is closed'by a sliding door 11 mounted on guides 12.

' The elevation is such as to permit proper disposition of a filling sack 13 which may be suspended from hooks or the like 14, (see Fig. 2). The entire housing i secured to a pair of longitudinally extending runners or rails 15 and it will be noticed that diagonal braces 16 are connected with these runners and side portions of the housing in order to secure rigidity of construction. Of course there are other bars and strips in the general framework which need not be described here.

two screens ain/each zbin and. these screens .are

By directing attention to Fig. 1, it will be i for rotation in appropriate bearings and on the ends of this shaftare fans 18. On the center of the shaft is a belt pulley. Moreover beneath each set of bins is a dirt discharge chute 21. There are two of these chutes which extend from the center of the housing downwardlyl and outwardly, and communicate with t e rectangular opening closed by the aforesaid hinged door 4.

The fans are referably located inwardly of the screen. ne purpose of this chute is, as indicated, to dlscharge dirt collected therein by gravity. Another purpose is to aid in conducting the air current from the fan upwardly and into the bin. I might state in this connection that in the present construction, there are four bins, there being two screen receivers at the bottom of each bin and under each set of bins, is the discharge chute 21. Moreover in order to obtain uniform circulation of air, there is a fan at each end of the device.

In practice, the shaft may be driven in either direction. When operated in one direction, it draws the air in through the screen 3 at the ends and drives it upwardly through the screened bottoms of the bins. I might state however, that the circulation is only permitted when the door of the bin 7 is open. In this way, the air circulation can be re lated. Then too, instead of forcing the air upwardly through the nut, it may be drawn downwardly thru them by reversing the direction of movement of the fan. As before stated, natural air has been employed, and it is found that this dries the nuts perfectly and maintains them in a better condition than when acted upon by heated air.

It is thoughtthatby considering the detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings, a clear understanding of the construction and features will be obtained. Therefore a more lengthy description is thought unnecessary.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that minor changes coming within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to if desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim asnew is:

1. A dehydrator of the class described comprising a housing provided with a bin open at its top, a closure for said top, a discharge opening in one side of said bin, a closure for said opening, and a screened bottom in said bin and embodying downwardly converging side walls and a downwardly and outwardly inclined bottom wall, leading to said discharge opening;

2. In a dehydrater'of the class described, a housing having longitudinal and transverse partitions on its interior dividing it into a plurality of compartments forming nut receiving bins, a screened bottom for said bins, the bins being open at their tops, individual closures for said open tops, discharge chutes located beneath said bins, a shaft journaled for rotation upon said housing, and fans on the opposite ends of the shaft for circulating air simultaneously through the bins when uncovered.

3. In a dehydrator of the class described, a housing embodying a nut receiving bin, which is open at its top, a hingedly mounted downwardly inclined cover for said open top, a screened receiver forming the bottom of said bin, said receiver being constructed to cause the nuts to discharge therefrom by gravlty, an opening cooperable with the discharge end of the receiver, a closure for said.

opening, a downwardly and outwardly inclined chute located beneath said receiver, a shaft extending rotatably through said chute and a fan on the outer end of the shaft adjacent the discharge end of said chute.

t In testimony whereof I aflix my signaure.

JESSE o. WELLEs. 

